


A Brine-y Bargain

by zerozerokyu



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Marine archaeologist! Alec Trevelyan, Marine archaeologist!James Bond, Sailing, Sea God, Sea Monsters, Treasure Hunting, Trying to be funny but not funny?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29281341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zerozerokyu/pseuds/zerozerokyu
Summary: James is not superstitious, Alec is. He will tell you all sorts of sailor's tales about monsters and things not to do but maybe tales are passed down for a reason and James is about to find out that one of it is true and that one should always be careful when dealing with the supernatural.They should never have gone after that lost ship. At the back of their mind, they knew they should have never taken up this cursed search after the multiple reports of paranormal occurrences and bad luck that seemed to happen to whoever undertook it. Alec was the superstitious one, thinking something sinister might be at play, but James usually just shrugged it off when his partner started telling him old sailor tales about sea monsters, giant squid, Cthulhu and what not. It all just sounded like made up mumbo jumbo to him. If Alec says a Megalodon is out there in the sea, sure he will believe that.
Relationships: James Bond/Q, James Bond/Q/Alec Trevelyan, Q/Alec Trevelyan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	A Brine-y Bargain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aliensundermybed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliensundermybed/gifts).



> A fic that has been hanging around in my head for quite some time since 2020 October but hey I'm a slow writer and stuff never worked out the way I wanted. Hope you enjoy it. _More warning will be added at later chapters_.
> 
>  **Thank you to the following people.**  
>  I would love to thank Soufflé for the wonderful beta of chapter 1. Thank you thank you! 
> 
> Also thank you to Alien for the amazing art that will be popping up in chapter 2 and also the idea. Wanna see more of Alien's wonderful arts??? Visit [Alien's Twitter](https://twitter.com/Dramaticatart)!

It was supposed to be an easy task for James and Alec. The somewhat famous marine archaeologist and wreck diving duo made their names from sailing all over the world to recover any sunken treasure no matter how dangerous or impossible it seemed. Their years serving in the Royal Navy might have played a part in their ability to conquer any type of weather conditions on the sea. Alec believed that their years serving in the Royal Navy might have played a part in their ability to conquer any type of weather conditions on the sea, but James wasn't so sure that was the reason. He believed that it was their good planning and ability to hunt for the smallest clues no matter how obscure in history it might be that made them, if he was not tooting his own horn, the best in the line.

But this task was different. They should never have gone after that lost ship. At the back of their mind, they knew they should have never taken up this cursed search after the multiple reports of paranormal occurrences and bad luck that seemed to happen to whoever undertook it. Alec was the superstitious one, thinking something sinister might be at play, but James usually just shrugged it off when his partner started telling him old sailor tales about sea monsters, giant squid, Cthulhu and what not. It all just sounded like made up mumbo jumbo to him. If Alec says a Megalodon is out there in the sea, sure he will believe that.

Their current exploration grant sent them all the way from London to Sweden to search for a Finnish galleon that was rumoured to have sunk while travelling from Norway, taking with it a huge cargo of precious items and men on its journey back. Both James and Alec became interested in it when they finally managed to find new information regarding the 14th century fleet that mysteriously went into a fog and never appeared again. Alec jokingly suggested that it must be a supernatural cause for a ship to suddenly disappear out of the blue like the Bermuda triangle or even  _ De Vliegende Hollander _ .

They set off from the coast of sunny Stockholm towards the estimated last sighted location marked on their maps. Everything was smooth sailing - no pun intended; with the wind picking up their sails and the water calms as can be. Both men were glad that the weather was cooperating with them as they set up their side-scan sonar to start scanning the seafloor as they went along the area they had mapped out, ready to detect any remains if possible. Their luck soon ran out when the course they took led them straight into choppy waters and the skies turned dark with the warning of heavy storms coming towards them.

“James!” Alec shouted from the steering as the winds picked up. 

James did not respond.

Alec tried again over their walkie-talkie: “James! Come back to the boat before the sea gets choppy. Secure the sonar and come back. Brace for a storm!” 

“Copy,” came the static voice as the next wave hit the boat.

Alec held strong to the wheel. The windbreaker did nothing to stop the wind from chilling him through to his bones. Alec kept his eyes on James as he slowly tried to make his way back to the cockpit, the boat rocking from side to side. They both tried to prepare for the sudden, violent storm, but they knew it was impossible. 

With no warning, the wind rose up to make the previously-still waters too choppy, which soon turned into giant waves. James rushed forward to tie down the sails that were flapping in the wind. The wind slammed the rain into their faces like tiny stones and pushed their hoods back. The cold bit into their skin like tiny icy needles. The yacht rocked, first rising up waves at forty-five degrees, and then crashing down and jarring their bones. At one point, the waves spun the vessel sideways. They had seen plenty of strange weather patterns but this was by far the worst. 

“This is not normal!” James shouted over the wind as their boat crashed into another violent wave. 

They both braced themselves as the boat crashed down again, the impact taking their breath away. James held tightly onto the ropes as the boat rocked violently again. It was difficult to hang on. A bolt of lightning struck nearby, lighting the whole sky up in eerie white lights. The boat rode up and down the mighty swell, flinging Alec off the wheel and on to the wet floor. The boat shook again and James grabbed hold of the steering wheel to keep the boat as stable as possible. The waves crashed again on the boat, flooding the deck.

“Come on, come on! Just let us through, we just need to get out of this storm. Please!” James pleaded to whichever higher being that might be watching them. James felt silly for uttering that plea but the superstitious sailor in him somehow made him do it.

“Keep going straight,” Alec yelled, now on his feet as he tried to read the navigator with both rain and seawater pelting him in the face. “Keep her steady and avoid the giant wave.”

James winced when he could not steer the boat away from the next wave as she took the full brunt force of the hit. She swayed and creaked still, keeping strong despite all the storm that did not seem to abate. 

‘Come on James, push just a little. Please… Please… Please… Let us through to calmer waters,’ James chanted under his breath as he watched Alec slowly reel in the kicking strap that kept the boom from swaying back and forth.

Finally, with what felt like hours of fighting with the boat and the weather, they hit a break of water. The sea calmed down and the sky slowly cleared up. The sunlight that peeked through the clouds and touched their faces nearly made them both weep in joy at now being safe. Alec got down on his knees to thank whichever god was out there for sparing their boat from being damaged.

James let Alec do whatever hocus pocus he usually did, deciding to do checks to make sure all the equipment was working, now noticing that they might have been swept off course from their initial path. The electronic navigation board flickered and beeped as he tried to click on it. He tried to wipe it, pat it, smack it and even move it but nothing seemed to make it work. They were now out in open water with no sight of land, not the best outcome but still manageable.

“I don’t like that look. Tell me we're not lost.”

“We aren't,” James assured as he turned the engine back on.

****

“Oh, fucking perfect! We are lost!” 

“No, we aren't. Just keep going straight and we should reach Helsinki.” James tried to direct as he looked up from the map and gestured towards the navigator that was now working so what although it might have cracked and had some lines in the screen from being flung across the place. Alec does not have to know that little detail.

“That was what you said 30 minutes ago. We still don't see land, so we are still lost and out in open waters going in circles. I shouldn't have trusted you. That thing is definitely broken. We have been out here for nearly a flipping day.” Alec jabbed at the navigation tablet with much more force than needed making the already existing lines spread.

“Alec, I know what I’m doing. I can read the maps and the navigator is not broken. See!” 

James pointed at the system as he took over the steering since Alec pretty much gave up on driving the boat with a cry of ‘Get us out of this mess or I will throw you overboard to be fed to the sharks’ as he left for the cabin to catch some so-called shut eye.

James shook his head. He decided that arguing with Alec was not a good idea, especially since the man had done his duty of piloting the boat mostly through the night with little sleep. Alec had always been a good sport and he commended the man for following his instructions. James didn't want to admit that this expedition had pretty much gone to shit ever since they hit the freak storm and went out on a hunch from an obscure clue they found in a lost map. James wanted to kick himself for even going after this sunken ship or taking up the grant for this find. It seemed to actually be cursed. 

“Not cursed. Just coincidences and bad luck. Really, really bad luck ” He assured himself.

Alec popped back up from the cabin, giving him the hand signal to cut the engine and leave the boat to sail with the wind. James raised an eyebrow and did what he was told as he watched Alec hang up the hammock and climb in for a quick snooze. 

James decided to pull the wetsuit down to his waist and just relax, letting the wind do all the work. The weather was now kinder to them with the sun that shone down on them and sparkling blue water ahead.

Just as James was about to start totally relaxing, the sonar scanner started chirping, making a series of beeps before it died down again attracting Alec's attention.

“James, did we just pick up something at the bottom?” Alec peered down from the hammock, his face in a deep frown. 

James frowned., It wasn't possible. He clearly remembered dragging the machine back in and securing it back to the boat before the storm hit. A sonar scanner was not supposed to be beeping this furiously without being turned on. He decided to check it out to make sure he had not made a mistake. The machine was too expensive for them to be careless with it even if it might belong to them. 

The machine had not moved an inch and James knelt down it to check it over. He discovered that the sonar machine was covered in a mucus-like substance that clung to it. He frowned and scooped up some water to clean the surface. 

‘Where has that come from?’ He wondered as the goo spread over his hand each time he tried to remove it.

James’ eyes darted around, suddenly paranoid, thinking he saw something popping up from the sea to watch him. He quickly turned to look at the water and kept his eyes on the spot where he thought he saw something, hoping it was just a fish or a dolphin that got curious and came to explore. But James knew that dolphins do not usually come to this part of the water and even if they do, he would see their fins cutting through the water. Something was happening here that he didn't understand, and in James’ world, that meant danger, especially out in the open seas with no way to get help.

“Now be honest with me, I promise not to get mad. But are we lost?” Alec asked again, now hanging one wetsuit covered leg over the hammock looking very relaxed as he toys with a folded knife in one hand. James knows Alec could not be trusted to keep his promise if he is holding a knife. Knives are dangerous in the man’s hand along with anything that could be used to make a bomb, even water could be made into a bomb if Alec tries hard enough. James knows Alec is very much capable of it out of spite.

James shrugged, even he wasn't that sure. Strange things kept happening ever since the storm passed. But he had a creepy feeling of being watched ever since the night before. The multiple times he got into the water to guide the sonar to the right position, he might have imagined something touching his face. James was no longer sure if he's tired mind was making things up or if Alec constantly telling him all those supernatural tales were finally getting to him. He preferred the first. God forbid, James Bond, finally being superstitious after scoffing at the legends told to him by others.

"Hey, I think we might be at the prime spot to catch some octopus and have that for dinner later. Grilled tako, yummy." Alec rolled himself out of the hammock as he peered over the boat to the water like he was checking for something.

"We have food on-board, Alec. Like those chips you're munching on. Hand me some will you." James stretched out his hand asking for some which Alec being the glutton he has only handed him a tiny piece with a big grin on his lips.

"But fresh food would be good too, not the normal canned stuff we have here. Oh, I heard from a bunch of sailors before we left that a big ass octopus monster usually lurks out here too, so could always try to catch it and keep the octopus for food the next few days if we are indeed lost."

"Or get pulled under by the so-called 'big ass octopus monster'. Sounds like a bad idea when you get fucked by it. Do you have a tentacle fetish by any chance?" James could not help smiling at the mock offended look Alec was now sporting.

"No. I prefer to keep my sexual escapades to humans unlike you, who will fuck anything that moves." Alec scoffed.

Alec planned to catch some fresh fish and cook them later. James was not getting any of it for dinner for not believing him. If they were not finding any sunken ships and treasure, at least he could still try to catch some fresh seafood and enjoy the sun. Maybe get a tan too. He would enjoy the best out of a bad situation if needed, as long as he could find that fishing rod he remembered bringing.

“You know, there is an old Russian sailor’s legend about the seas containing a sea creature that is worshipped as a God in some of the fishing towns.” Alec continued rummaging in the cabin as he tossed out random items that were in the way.

"What about it?"

"It is said to guide sailors lost out at sea back to land or grant you a wish for the right price." Alec hummed, recalling the tale that was told to him often by his grandfather. “It is quite interesting don’t you think. The idea of having a sea god that helps you”

James laughed, shaking his head. Sailors were a superstitious lot who loved sharing spooky tales and he liked hearing about them since they tended to be bizarre and morbid in nature. James even poked fun at one of the superstitions once by bringing bananas out on a fishing trip, driving Alec nuts since it would jinx them with no fish. 

“Will it work for finding the ship? We have a lot of money riding on this discovery.”

“Who knows, you can give it a try.” Alec chimed in, still eating chips from the bag that seemed to not run out as he dragged out a fishing pole.

“Hey! Hey! Sea God of Russian sailor lore, we need help! Lead us to the sunken Finnish ship last spotted around Stockholmes towards Helsinki in the late 14th Century, and we will… errr… give you this beautiful map of the land. It is really pretty and colourful.” James shouted to the sea mockingly, mostly just to entertain himself.

“That is an oddly specific request.”

“The sea is big, so I guess giving specific clues on what we are looking for might help and who knows how many bloody big ships are sunken around here. Not like this god is real.” James laughed at how silly it was.

“I don’t think doing that is a good idea, James. You do not want to anger the sea god.”

“Oh relax, Alec. This is just a legend with no scientific proof.” James turned back to the sea and shouted again “You can have these nice bags of chips and my book on Greek myths.” 

Still, nothing happened so James tried again with different variations from offering canned food to even the sonar detector but still, nothing changed. He felt silly and tired of trying even if it started out as a joke.

“Okay, fine. You can have us both as a price for leading us to that sunken ship. We will be your eternal slaves who will serve you willingly, oh great sea god.” He added the last part hoping that his somewhat respectful tone might help.

“Take that back, James! I did not agree to be included in that deal, you are on your own. Undo it! Hey, sea god!  _ Morskoy bog! _ I do not agree with this!” Alec shouted, hands now on the area where his cross necklace will be under the wetsuit.

James chuckled, “See nothing is happening. As I said, Alec, you are too superstitious and it is just a tale. Your story is bull crap and a sea god does not exist. Even our lives are not worth enough for it…”

A dark shadow darted toward the boat and the boat rocked. It started tipping forward like a hand had just grabbed it and yanked it forward and was trying to get on board. The boat rocked back and forth before the back of the boat tipped. Both James and Alec held on to the railing in horror as the scene played out. A pair of hands reached up to the railing of the boat and the air grew cold. James could feel his breath coming out in puffs of smoke as he exhaled. The hand on the back of the boat was pulling itself up slowly.

“Deal accepted,” came the voice that sounded like the gentle crashing of the water on the shore - soft, smooth and inviting. Their initial fear was put to ease immediately.

Neither of them could process what was happening, the voice putting them into a trance as their legs carried them to the edge of the boat towards the captivating, smooth voice that seemed to lure them. Their minds were hazy as they followed the voice that beckoned them to take a dip in the inviting blue sea. Alec and James did not notice the long tentacles creeping up the boat, extending forward to latching onto their legs. The slimy appendages pulled them off the boat, dragging them deeper and deeper down the cold water into the cold dark abyss of the sea.

****

James remembered the soothing voice that called to him. He remembered the feeling of calmness and joy as he followed the voice. He remembered falling off the boat into the cold water, his wetsuit protecting him from the initial shock of the water surrounding his body. James recalled air rushing out of his body as he tried to hold onto it when he woke up from his trance, silently screaming as the surface seemed to get further and further from his reach. He fought to swim upward for air as his head pounded from the lack of air and he clawed at the thing wrapping on his leg, pulling him deeper to his death. Yet somehow knowing that he was about to die, James felt almost at peace. He found it beautiful how the water rippled on the surface; the various fish swimming past. He smiles at how ironic it is that he spent half his life on the sea to one day go by the sea. James could slowly feel himself losing consciousness and all went dark.

**Author's Note:**

> So here it is. Enjoy, comment and give kudos. I'm starved for it lately sadly.
> 
> Until the next chapter. See ya.


End file.
